Ft. Myers, FL to Portland, OR

We began our trip at the Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers. My excitement was enormous. My thoughts had not left this trip for the past few weeks. My mind was a swirling funnel filled with the thoughts of beautiful places, adventurous times and physically challenging feats. Of course, I had hyped this up to be a lot bigger than it really was. In my mind this was epic...but truthfully it wasn't.

I need to make that clear. I understand that my journeys are no greater than anything anyone else has done. I often find myself shying away from sharing my experiences because I know that everyone has their own phenomenal happenings; however, I find that experiences don't need to be extraordinary to be shared. In fact, we are called to share our lives with one another regardless of how "awesome" we think they are. What I was able to be a part of was great. And I understand that it isn't climbing Mt. Everest or anything like that. The true magnifence of my travels is found in the beauty and magnitude of God my King and seeing more and more of His wondrous creation.

That is really what this is all about. If I am able to share the glory of God through my ordinary experiences, I can count them extraordinary for the sake of Christ.

I began to think through this on the plane. I started to wonder about the WONDER of God. Was what I was about to embark on really that incredible? I felt swallowed up in the largeness of this universe.

I wrote in my journal:
"This trip has already captured my thoughts to the wonder and majesty of creation. Up in the sky right now I am reminded of the great might and power of Yahweh God. As the sun begins to rise and shine through the fluffy clouds in a soft pink tint, I am reminded that God holds this all in His hand, and again I am feeling quite insignificant. This universe is HUGE...yet He took upon flesh and made Himself nothing and dwelt among us. The God who created this vast cosmos chose to take a human body and enter into our tiny world, in one particular place in time and geography. How crazy?! He literally made Himself nothing...
I think it is so awesome how all of creation speaks out toward the beautiful process of renewal and regeneration. Every flower and every sunset is a microcosm of the Lord's hand. It proclaims this process of creation, fall, redemption and points us back to the original perfect creation and the second fulfilling redemptive re-creation.
This trip has me excited for several reasons but there is none greater than the opportunity to be intimately engrossed in nature, a constant daily reminder of the Creator, His vastness, His sovereignty, but also His meekness, humility and simplicity."


Fort Myers, Florida to Portland, Oregon -2590 miles http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=2